I’m a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it- 1001 random thoughts. A year and a day in the life…

Beauty comes in strange ways. Much the same, thoughts fill our heads in the course of an average day. We all process millions of thoughts. Most of them fleeting, they come as flashes and pass through like shooting stars. I found myself caught in the maze today, just like any other day. I woke up this morning with nothing in particular to do, no place to be, no schedules, so I set out to just walk- a hike in the woods. Initially I had thought I was going to catch an art show that I “thought” was going on at a nature center near by. Great! Just what I needed, some culture and yes, it can be found on occasion smack dab in the middle of good old Darke, Co Ohio.

You may be surprised at the level of artistic endeavor that abounds in this sleepy little neck of the woods. Anywho, so I set out to the nature center hoping to get some sensory stimulation, to no avail! Instead of fleeing in dejection feeling as if I had let myself down by not consulting something of sorts to plan my way, I set out to the woods. After all, this was MY day so I opted for some needed ME time. If you don’t know Darke County, we are blessed with an excellent park system, its quaint and unprentuous- nothing but nature, and my favorite park being Shawnee prairie, the central HQ for the park system. It’s the one park that does have the amenity of a nature center, yet tastefully done. I don’t know whether it’s the stigmatism of the park having been settled on what was once prime Native American ground or what? But a spirit definitely runs through the place. It’s also the site that I did my first major featured show as a nature and wildlife artist. So back to my hike/walk.

I set out in the woods on a decidedly Fall-like day. It wasn’t quite warm but not really cold. Mild, I guess. This particular section of woods affords a huge variety of landscape to soak up, ranging from wooded trails to prairie tracts and a clay marsh swamp- one of the most unique features of the preserve. Before this continues to sound like a long and sappy PR pitch for the center, having set the stage for my present train of thought, I let my mind wonder.

First I mulled the current thoughts of the day. My daughters fast approaching sweet 16 party next week, a business offer I had been presented, a prospective romantic interest, life direction, and the bigger picture of life in general. As you can see, I am prone to do A LOT of thinking, and this on a day when I vowed to forget it all! HA!!! Feeling weighted down enough; I started to allow myself to drift off to more weighty issues outside of myself. Knowing that the area was once inhabited by Native Americans of the Shawnee tribe (among others) I slipped back to that time to wonder what it must have been like to exist in that day- that mindset. Would it be an easier existence or wrought with greater hardships? In hindsight it all seems irrelevant. It’s all a matter of space and time but nonetheless, I felt a rather romanticized connection to that day long ago.

I continued on my trek through the preserve, which is several hundred acres large and encompasses a trail system of a few miles. My thoughts moved on next to the surrounding plant and animal life, the streams where teaming (yes! A chance to use the word teaming!) With waterfowl resting in their annual flight to warmer climes. I took a minute to envy those ducks. Free to roam, free to fly, free to get shot at unsuspectedly by some game-hungry hunter, then the bubble broke. The grass is definitely greener!!!

Leaving the ducks behind, I noticed what was green and alive only a few weeks ago was now taking on what, at first thought, was a dead and dull tone of brown. Upon further observation and thought, I was seeing so many colors hidden below that surface, proving that things in life are never what they seem on the surface. We all need to take the time to check things out and go deeper. Society has conditioned us to rush, rush and most of the time we act solely on impulse. I’m not totally discrediting impulse, its served me well in the past, yet my years upon this earth have allowed me to see that pattern for what it is. At this juncture, you are no doubt waiting on me to shed some words of wisdom on what I perceive that to be. I won’t! LOL. Call me stubborn; call me an unscrupulous tease, my point being that perception is just that, something different to each of us.

Moving from browning seedpods ready to bust at the seams to spread the new life of next spring, my interest was drawn to the trees that dot the landscape in that area. Trees everywhere. I like trees. Trees are like people, each one is unique and so full of character, and they come in all varieties, even within their own perspective genus and species- that botanical knowledge finally finding a home. Feeling at home as I was among the Oaks and towering Maples, the sparsely dotted pines, an occasional Catalpa, I wondered what type of tree I would be? The sun was starting to glaze me to a nice warmth by this point, so I kicked back to ponder the thought for a few moments. I lay myself down on the ground to take the weight of the world off me. It’s always nice to get close to the earth and feel our roots, the dust we rose from and the dust we will return to: The one constant in life when viewed under the proper light which makes us feel whole.

There I stayed becoming one with the trees. Being one of THEM, for once feeling as if there was a place that I fit in with no qualms, no objections, and no doubts. I was a tree if only for a few seconds. For the record, at that instant I was a mighty Oak, roots well planted and my branches reaching out to the world, not only to shade and protect, but also flowing free in the breeze. I towered above the forest, yet I was still small under the sky compared to the sun, the clouds or the stars. Although my leaves had been ruffled by the changing season, I knew next spring I would see greener days again. I remained there prone in a state of bliss.

After a few seconds of warmth, the sun slipped behind the clouds and a cool breeze reminded me that it was time to move on. I had spent enough time wondering about the things of the world. Such are but a few of the thoughts that slipped though my head on this day and such begins what I would like to launch as a daily ritual, for a whole year my wish is to travel around with a small pad, no eventually I am sure that will grown to several or even many small pads full of all the random thoughts that pass through this maze that is my brain…

“I never before knew the full value of trees. Under them I breakfast, dine, write, read, and receive my company.” – Thomas Jefferson